Free Verse as Free as a Bird
By Emme' Fernandez
History of Free Verse Poetry
- it became popular in the 20th century
- there are free verse "roots" going in to the 17th century
Purpose of Free Verse
- to have no rules ( be rebels )
- to go beyond regular poetry
Characteristics
- The length of the line can be as long or as short as desired
- sometimes poets break lines (even though a certain group of words belong together) to create a shape to support the poem
- sometime to empathize a word in the poem the author will give the word its own line
- it is sometimes thought to be a spoken song when read aloud
- often authors write being a more complex meaning- convey meaning
- tries to capture imagery
- many authors use figurative lang.
- can chose to have rhyme or rhythm
- no meter
- THERE ARE SERIOUSLY NO RULES FOR FREE VERSE
A Few Examples of Free Verse
After the Sea-Ship by Walt Whitman
After the Sea-Ship—after the whistling winds;
After the white-gray sails, taut to their spars and ropes,
Below, a myriad, myriad waves, hastening, lifting up their necks,
Tending in ceaseless flow toward the track of the ship:
Waves of the ocean, bubbling and gurgling, blithely prying,
Waves, undulating waves—liquid, uneven, emulous waves,
Toward that whirling current, laughing and buoyant, with curves,
Where the great Vessel, sailing and tacking, displaced the surface;
Free Verse by Robert Graves
I now delight
In spite
Of the might
And the right
Of classic tradition,
In writing
And reciting
Straight ahead,
Without let or omission,
Just any little rhyme
In any little time
That runs in my head;
Because, I’ve said,
My rhymes no longer shall stand arrayed
Like Prussian soldiers on parade
That march,
Stiff as starch,
Foot to foot,
Boot to boot,
Blade to blade,
Button to button,
Cheeks and chops and chins like mutton.
No! No!
My rhymes must go
Turn ’ee, twist ’ee,
Twinkling, frosty,
Will-o’-the-wisp-like, misty
Cites used ( great cites guys!!! )
cite used for history on free verse poetry #1 https://www.press.umich.edu/14138/origins_of_free_verse - date used 2-7-14 - author University of Michigan Press 839 Greene Street Ann Arbor, MI 48104-3209 - publisher Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 license - copy right date - ©2012, Regents of the University of Michigan.
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http://www.edu.pe.ca/stjean/playing%20with%20poetry/Hickey/Free%20Verse.htm purpose and Characteristics of free verse #4 #5 date used 12-9-14
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http://examples.yourdictionary.com/examples-of-free-verse-poems.html #7 for examples date used 12-9-14